


Coffee Stained Lips

by permanent_marker



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Author!Logan, Dancer!Roman, Deceit, Genderfluid!Patton, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Mature for later chapters where there are darker themes, Mutual Pining, Virgil is a cute boi, am i using tags right?, but only in later chapters dw, coffee shop AU, is a bitch, its gay, only as a backstory though, real gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-22 03:50:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15573105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/permanent_marker/pseuds/permanent_marker
Summary: Virgil works at a cafe with Patton. Patton is dating Roman. Virgil finds himself falling for Logan, a regular at the coffee shop. And soon, even more feelings appear, entwining the four together.





	1. Local Angst Boy pines for Author Man

**Author's Note:**

> Heya Sweethearts! So this is my first Sanders Sides fic and hopefully i'm doing okay haha. I'm not entirely sure how often i can update but i shall try to be somewhat regular. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Warnings: I don't believe that there are any for this chapter but if there are, please notify me!
> 
> Word Count: 1116

 

Virgil was, as is generally the norm for 6 am on a monday, was tired. Virgil was not sure why anybody would be up at this ungodly hour, but it seemed that some people were just masochists that way. Patton on the other hand, was much too cheery for the hour, humming and wiping the counter top as the one or two customers who were already picking up their morning caffeine - business types - filtered through the door. Virgil was standing at the counter, hunching his shoulders and staring, dead-eyed at the glass doors. He knew who he was was waiting for. Patton knew who he was waiting for. The regulars at the coffee shop probably knew he was waiting for. And judging by that clock, he would be arriving…

The door opened.

...Now

Logan. Virgil’s eyes brightened, to say that this was the highlight of his day would probably be an understatement because suffice it to say...Virgil had a crush on the man. Which was why the moment he walked in, Virgil straightened up his dead eyed hunch and grinned.

“Logan!  Pun ctual as ever!” Patton grinned from next to one of the fridges under the counter, which also happened to help Virgil snap out of his daze and actually start to move, holding out a black coffee to the man on the other side of the counter.

Logan smiled, accepting the cup in one hand while waving with his other, a satchel slung over a large grey cardigan and a polo. “Thank you, Virgil, it’s appreciated.” He reached into his pocket to pay but his arm was batted away by Virgil’s hand.

“It’s on the house” Virgil insisted with a grin that was again, uncharacteristic of this time on a monday morning, and yet there it was.

Logan, on the other hand, was furrowing his brows in an odd mixture of distress, confusion and concern as he spoke up, “Virgil, there is no need to offer me a free beverage - I am more than able to -”

“It’s on the house,” Virgil insisted with a chuckle. “Now go write your book, nerd.”

Logan chuckled and walked away to sit at the table by the window, hanging his satchel on the chair opposite his, opening his laptop and sitting down. He took a sip of his coffee, smiling to himself. Virgil on the other hand was staring at the spectacled man with a frankly idiotic smile on his face. 

“-gil. Virgillllllllll?” Patton waved their hand in front of his co-workers face, snapping the purple haired boy out of his daze

“Huh? Yeah Pat?” Patton shook their head in response, gesturing to a woman in a suit, looking rather irritated and tapping her foot. Virgil’s head shot up as he realised that this lady was in fact, a customer. “Oh my God I’m so sorry ma’am, what can i get you?”

A few minutes later, when the (slightly angry) businesswoman left the shop with a latte in her hand, Patton turned to Virgil with a teasing smile on their face that summoned a groan from some deep part of Virgil’s diaphragm. He buried his head in his hands, shaking his head. “Not. A. Word.” He shot a pointed look at his grinning friend.

“What?” Patton responded with mock surprise, their bottom lip dropped comically “I haven’t said anything!” Another pointed look. “...Yet” Patton laughed, and Virgil couldn’t help but smile as well, not noticing how Logan glanced up fondly at the sound of the barista’s laughter.

 

Not too long after, around the afternoon, the glass doors that led into the cafe were flung open with much extravagance, drawing a squeal from Patton who was quickly flung aloft and spun in the air by Roman. Patton’s dress whirled around in the air before shoes landed on the ground again. Roman brushed Patton’s knuckles against his own lips, hand running across the purple wristband that read ‘They/Them’

“Patton! My Love!” Roman’s voice boomed out as he gazes down in adoration at a head of curly hair. He looked, as he would describe himself, Dashing, he was wearing a plain white v-neck tshirt and black dance leggings, a dance bag was hung on his shoulder, and Virgil smiled at the adorable couple before clearing his throat, reminding the other two of his presence behind the counter with one eyebrow quirked up. Patton and Roman both turned to him, with almost identical bashful looks on the pair’s faces that barely held up before the trio burst into laughter. The cafe was, for the most part, empty, bar Logan and the few groups of college students that were revising in the enclosed space in the back, and Logan was quite used to the three’s raucousness. Speaking of Logan, Virgil couldn’t help but notice that his forehead was crinkled in a frown as he stared at the laptop in front of him. The blue light from the screen made him look even paler and Virgil didn’t think that he’d eaten all day. His staring was evidently not as subtle as he thought because a few seconds later, Roman pushed him stumbling forward into the table at which Logan was sat.

Virgil looked back at Roman with a glare before turning back to Logan with an apologetic smile and reddened cheeks, tilting his head towards the chair facing Logan in a question. The question was answered with a nod and a smile and Virgil sat down.

“When was the last time you ate? Or like. Took a break?”  _ Oh great Virgil, just blurt it out, no need for tact. It’s not like you’re particularly close with him and now he probably thinks you’re a complete- _

“While I’m grateful for your concern Virgil, i’m perfectly fine, thank you” 

Virgil raised his eyebrows skeptically “I have seen you in here most working days for two years now, and i cannot think of one time i have seen you take a break or eat anything more than a granola bar. You are working too hard”

Logan opened his mouth again “But-”

“No buts, you need a rest, you’re coming to mine tonight, 7 o’clock. I’ll give you my address.” Virgil had zero idea where this sudden confidence surge had come from but he decided not to question it, instead scrawling down the address of his, patton’s, and roman’s apartment. He then walked back to the counter without looking back to see Logan transformed into a blushing mess. He instead had an entire nonverbal conversation with Patton and Roman which was communicated mostly through open mouths, exaggerated hand gestures and silent freaking out in the time it took for him to insert himself behind the cash register again.


	2. Wholesome Baking Gays Are Gay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Patton are a power couple we all want to be, Patton is Sad, and I am Very Sorry. also: a few glances at the Boys' backstory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so - if I'm honest, i can't say I'm a fan of this chapter at all, it isn't the quality of writing that I'd like, and it's shorter than it should be but I realised that I did just need to get this chapter out, so I could focus on the next one. I'm really sorry that this chapter isn't great but the next one is definitely going to be much better.

Around, say, a few hours later (9 o’clock: half an hour after closing time) Patton was sitting up on the countertop in the kitchen behind the cafe. Their arm was wrapped around a wooden bowl as they stirred some cookie dough and chatted to Roman about the events of the day. 

“I just think it’s so lovely that Virge has found someone and Logan seems like a lovely guy, but-”

“But you still have feelings for him.” Roman stated it factually, and the words had no jealousy attached to them. The two had realised a long time ago that they were polyamorous, and were perfectly candid about it with each other.

“Yeah...” Patton trailed off, their eyes focused on the bowl in their lap. They couldn’t help but feel guilty about feeling this way after all this time. Since Patton and Roman had met Virgil four years ago, Patton had been pushing their… romantic feelings for Virge down. It wouldn’t be fair to him. They were snapped out of this train of thought by two fingers on their chin, tilting it up into a soft kiss.

“My love, there is no need to be guilty. None at all” Roman took Patton’s hands in his own, looking up at them perched on the counter. The two of them were incredibly, stupidly, hopelessly in love. This became extremely clear when Patton let out a high pitched squeal and wrapped their arms around Roman’s neck, jumping off the counter and prompting him to fumble to catch Patton by the hips. “Whoa there, sweetheart, careful.” He pecked the shorter enby on the nose before setting them down, preparing to get going from the cafe.

“Let’s go out tonight, Ro.” Patton caught him by the wrist as he turned to exit the kitchen, an obviously fake smile on his face.

Roman raised one eyebrow in the direction of his datemate. He wasn’t objecting to the prospect of a date night (in fact, he believed that he would quite enjoy it) but he worried that Patton was attempting to avoid the sight of Virgil, and he’d rather not let Patton spiral into a cycle of internalisation and recklessness. Evidently, that quirked eyebrow conveyed everything Roman meant, because Patton’s shoulders wilted, and they let out a guilty sigh.

“I just don’t want to see those two together tonight. Please?” Patton was objectively adorable and of course Roman couldn’t resist swooping to place a kiss on their cheek.

“Very well,  _ mi vida _ , let us go” Roman bent down, sticking his arm out for Patton to take with a giggle.

* * *

 

When Patton and Roman first met Virgil, he had been living rough for two years, working as an escort despite him obviously being underage. He was 17 then. He’d been on the streets since he was fifteen. They’d saved him from being beat up by a ‘client’. He’d been wearing nothing but tattered binder and something that may have passed for a pair of shorts a long time ago. The couple had taken him to Roman’s apartment, cleaned his wounds, given him a place to stay for a while. Patton got him a job at the coffee shop where they were working. Virgil eventually moved in permanently with Roman. It was perfect. 

Until - well. Patton couldn’t pinpoint the exact time feelings for Virge started surfacing. Maybe a year or two after meeting? Virgil was 18, Patton, 19. And suddenly there was this cute boy in black eyeshadow with a sleepy smile when he forgot to place a grimace on his face. And then Logan started to frequent the shop, and he and Virgil seemed so perfect together. 

They were slightly cynical, liked the same writing, the same poetry, the same music. Patton couldn’t even try to compete with Logan. Nor should they. Virgil deserved someone like Logan, of course he did. Not... someone like Patton.

_ Honestly, you don’t even deserve Roman. Perfect Roman. Beautiful, kind, wonderful- _

“Roman to Patton, are you receiving?” Patton heard a short laugh and immediately snapped back to some sort of self awareness, plastering a smile onto their face. 

“Huh?” Patton raised their gaze to meet their boyfriend’s over the restaurant table, and  _ God,  _ he was gorgeous _.  _ “Sorry, I di-didn’t catch that Ro?” and Patton immediately felt guilty when Roman’s face fell with worry. 

“Patton, my love, you can’t ignore your emotions like this.” Roman reached out, clasping Patton’s right hand with both of his own, caressing their knuckles with his thumb. “There’s nothing wrong with what you’re feeling,  _ mi alma. _ ” He raised their hand to his lips, brushing them together and drawing a defeated sigh from Patton. 

“I know, it’s just-”

“It’s just what, darling?” Roman tilted his head, meeting their eyes above the flicker of candlelight and Patton hated themself for ruining this lovely, lovely meal. “You know you can’t keep things in, not after-”

“-after last time, I know. I know.” Patton wasn’t sure who they were trying to convince.

“Have you seen Emile recently?” Roman caressed Patton’s hand gently with his thumb, his head tilting to the side in question.

“No-uh-we decided that it wasn’t needed anymore.” 

Roman furrowed his brow “Alright well i’m going to call him tomorrow, set up an appointment alright?” 

Patton nodded, a small smile turning their lips upward. “Thanks Ro. Love you.”

Roman chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to the tip of Patton’s nose. “Love you too, sugarplum.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so...there it is. Constructive criticism appreciated, I still need a beta reader, and yell at me if you see a typo!  
> Next chapter is the Analogical uh-date? well, not really a date.  
> (It's totally a date)
> 
> Mwah love you darlings xox

**Author's Note:**

> Welp there it is! This chapter was mostly just set up and introducing the characters, and the next ones should be more plot based!
> 
> lmk if you see a typo and comments are appreciated!! as is constructive criticism!


End file.
